


im here

by starryswans (shakespearb)



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: (the oc is their daughter), Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, EreJean are good dads, Eren Has PTSD, Family Fluff, M/M, Modern Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan, Nightmares, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-27
Updated: 2020-09-27
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:40:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,684
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26673787
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shakespearb/pseuds/starryswans
Summary: "nightmares are scary. but with family by your side, you know it'll all be fine."ㅡ The Kirschtein Family and dealing with nightmares.(please read notes for triggers/etc)
Relationships: Jean Kirstein & Eren Yeager, Jean Kirstein/Eren Yeager
Comments: 2
Kudos: 50





	im here

**Author's Note:**

> hello hello! i had so much fun writing this bcs of my oc, sera! i will definitely have her in more erejean fics in the future too hoho :D special thanks to [meg](https://archiveofourown.org/users/myosotiis) for helping me find a name for her <33
> 
> fyi: sera IS their biological child. let's just say its in a universe where there's the technology for 2 dads to have a bio child (n its accessible).
> 
> TRIGGER WARNING(s):
> 
> \- Nightmares: the fic is entirely based on this prompt, but the dreams themselves weren't explicitly explored. (only brief mentions)  
> \- PTSD: eren suffers from ptsd and he has a slight panic attack in this story, but the attack was not explicitly written out.

Jean stirred awake, his eyes opening slowly as he heard the soft screech of their bedroom door. The soft glow of the night light in their living room seeped through the growing space. Jean squinted his eyes, trying to focus his sight to see who was entering the room. Against the backlight, he saw a silhouette of a small girl holding a teddy bear in her arms. Jean slowly got up, sitting up and opening his arms to welcome the little guest.

She tiptoed her way towards Jean, careful not to make too much noise lest her other dad wakes up. Jean reached over to the mini lamp on the bedside table as she approached, knowing very well that she was afraid of the dark. The girl snuggled herself into Jean's embrace, her grip still holding tightly to her bear. Seeing her closer, Jean noticed her tear-stained cheeks. 

"Did you have a nightmare, Sera?" Jean asked quietly, to which she responded with a nod. 

It was not the first time Seraphine had a nightmare. And definitely not the first time Jean had to deal with nightmares - Eren had them quite often, especially when they were younger. Unfortunately, it seems their daughter has taken that from Eren too. Jean looked at Seraphine pitifully, brushing his thumb over her cheeks to wipe her tears. He whispered hushed reassurances to calm her down.

"Daddy… No more scary monsters?” Seraphine asked with her small hand gripping tightly onto Jean’s clothes as she looked up at him, her heterochromatic eyes glassy from pooled tears.

Jean shook her head and pulled her closer towards him, “No, sweetie. I’m here, okay? See if they dare come near you. I’ll fight them all, daddy is much stronger than them!”

Seraphine’s laugh jingled in Jean’s ears as he flexed his arm. For added effect, Jean swung his arms around to dramatically demonstrate how he would fight the monsters. Seraphine giggled gleefully in fascination of her dad’s actions. Jean smiled softly as he watched Seraphine’s mood change. He was glad he could calm her down. As her laugh slowly subsided, Jean turned around and gently placed her down on the bed. Seraphine settled down, both her arms now hugging her plushed friend. Jean pushed the stray strands of hair off her face and slid down under the covers before kissing her forehead. Sera smiled and whispered a simple "Goodnight" as they both settled in for a ride back to dreamland.

* * *

It has been a few days since then. Eren and Jean have since made a habit of spraying "monster repellent" whenever they tucked Seraphine in. The repellent was simply water, but with a child's limitless imagination, anything is possible. At the very least, the method seemed to be enough to calm Seraphine down at night before she sleeps. 

But the world did not want to give Jean a good night sleep tonight. 

Jean squinted his eyes and tried to read the numbers on the clock. It was 3am. Eren had started whimpering beside him, and Jean had naturally stirred awake. Eren eventually started sleep-talking and from the few words he could recognise, Jean knew instantly what it meant. Although it has been a while since the last time Eren had an episode, it seemed that the nightmares were back. Jean knew exactly what he had to do when it happened. They had been together for years after all.

“No… Don’t leave her, Hannes please,” Eren’s desperate pleads echoed in the room.

Jean sat up and reached out to Eren, tapping his chest to wake him up. Eren’s eyes fluttered open and he took a moment to process his surroundings. His tensed expression eased up as realisation settled in. Eren let out a deep breath and pushed himself up. Jean’s hand instinctively went to find Eren’s, holding it tightly when he did. The contact was meant to help keep Eren grounded as he concentrated on getting his breathing back to normal. It was hard to do so though, since the nightmare was still vividly replaying in his mind. 

Noticing the way Eren’s furrowed brows and shaky breathing starting again, Jean quickly confirmed what Eren wanted, “Hey Eren, which number?”

Eren lifted his right hand and gestured the number two. Jean nodded and let his tongue run wild. Jean himself was not quite sure what he said; the words were leaving his mouth faster than his brain could process. The topics varied from what he did in the day, to the little things Seraphine did. Eren responded every now and then with short replies. Jean watched attentively, looking out to make sure Eren was okay. 

“You feel better now?” Jean asked when Eren looked better, careful to not step on a mine that could set him off again

Eren nodded and leaned onto Jean’s shoulder, bringing their intertwined hands to rest on his lap, “Thank you babe.”

Jean brushed Eren’s soft hair with his left hand before trailing down and cupping his face for a quick moment. Eren’s mouth curved into a light smile as he snuggled into Jean’s neck. Jean tilted his head slightly to rest it on Eren’s. The two of them sat in silence, simply taking each other’s familiar presence. In the cold temperature of the night, they basked themselves in each others’ warmth. Eren stroked his thumb over Jean’s, feeling the soothing roughness he had grown accustomed to. As Eren was engrossed in thoughts, he did not realise that sleep had consumed his husband until he felt Jean’s head sliding up and down his own. Eren let out a snicker before he carefully slid away from Jean. The taller quickly repositioned himself, resting his head against the backboard of the bed instead. 

Eren quickly took the chance to grab his phone off the nightstand and snap a picture. He could never have too many pictures of his husband sleeping, after all. Eren giggled lovingly at the picture before putting his phone away. With delicate, meticulously calculated movements, Eren slid his hands under Jean’s thighs and neck. He cautiously laid Jean back down. Jean only stirred slightly before relaxing back into his slumber.

“Dude, how are you so tired that you completely pass out in mere seconds but still managed to wake up when I had a nightmare?” 

Eren’s question was left hanging unanswered in the air. He shook his head and moved back under the covers. Eren turned on his side to face the sleeping Jean. As he did, he noticed an orange glow creeping in from the slowly growing gap at the door. Knowing it could only mean one thing, Eren pushed himself up with his elbow so his face could be seen. With his right hand, he gestured for Seraphine to come in. 

Eren's heart was practically melting as he watched Seraphine tiptoeing slowly towards him. He could see that she was crying and clearly terrified, yet she was still careful to not wake Jean up. As soon as Eren picked her up, she threw her arms around him tightly and sniffled into his shoulders. The poor girl was shaking, and Eren felt his heart clench. Having been in that position just minutes ago, Eren knew how terrifying the experience could be and it hurt to imagine that his daughter was going through something similar. 

Eren patted Seraphine's back, letting her cry it all out as he reassured her that she was fine. When Eren felt Seraphine calming down, he slowly pulled her away and sat her down on his lap. Seraphine's eyes were red and puffy, her nose and cheeks tinted pink and tear-stained. Eren wiped away the little tears trickling down her rosy cheeks tenderly. 

"You want to tell Papa what happened?" Eren asked softly.

Seraphine took a moment before replying, "The monsters take you and Daddy. Sera left alone." 

The 4 year old's voice was choked up as the tears pooled up in her eyes again. Eren quickly wiped them away and picked her back up, hugging her tightly. 

"It's okay sweetie, I'm here okay? Daddy and I will never leave you alone alright?" Eren assured Seraphine, who slowly nodded in acknowledgement.

Seraphine pulled away and lifted her fist, leaving her pinky up. Eren smiled and interlinked his pinky with her tiny ones, marking a promise to his words. As they pulled their hands away, a third one appeared between them. In sync, the father-daughter duo turned their heads towards the side. 

With a tired, half-asleep expression, Jean kept his hands up and slurred out, "Daddy pinky promise too."

Seraphine happily linked her pinky with Jean, who smiled too when the promise was sealed. Seraphine crawled over to the space between her two dads, and gave Jean a hug. 

"I hug Papa, so I hug Daddy too!" Seraphine clarified, her adorable speech shooting an arrow straight into both Eren and Jean's hearts. 

Seeing that Seraphine was feeling better, Eren slid back under the covers and let his head meet his pillow again. Seraphine followed suit, sliding into the blankets in the space between the two. Jean brushed the dual coloured strands of hair off her face, stealing the opportunity to kiss her cheeks before gushing over how adorable she was. 

Without skipping a beat, Eren commented, "Of course, Sera's my girl." He then leaned in to kiss Seraphine's cheeks lovingly.

Jean scoffed and snarkily replied, "Yeah, no. She's my girl."

The two of them stared at each other, neither wanting to back down. The little banter went back and forth, with no signs of ending as they reflected each other's statements. Sudden ly, they felt small hands wrapping themselves around their fingers. The both of them looked down at Seraphine who was beaming at them.

"I'm Papa and Daddy's girl!" Seraphine declared, lifting their hands that she was holding to prove her point. 

"Seraaa!" Eren and Jean cooed, the little girl having them completely wrapped around her fingers. 

"Daddy loves you so much, princess."

"Papa loves you so much too, angel."

Seraphine smiled, glancing at both of them before chirping excitedly, "I love Papa and Daddy more!"

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading, hope you enjoyed it!
> 
> you can find me on twitter [here](https://twitter.com/tendoutwts) or tumblr [here](http://spearbeans.tumblr.com/)!


End file.
